Tomahawk School taxes are going up 5% when we are paying a school administrator about $150,000 a year to be a cheerleader for the teachers union. The more they get the more he gets. What a great system, it sure takes care of it's own. Are we doing s 5% better job of educating our children? Is the school board representing the taxpayers or are they a rubber stamp for the school administration and the union? Perhaps it's time for some changes on the school board.

The Lincoln County Board's preliminary budget for 2011 is just plain nuts. For Merrill and Tomahawk residents, it would amount to a 6.55 percent increase in property taxes. In the preliminary budget, the tax hike is intended to cover a $3 million increase in county spending, which would rise from $51 million in 2010 to $54 million in 2011. It's time for the Board members to start looking for places to cut the budget. They've just spent a ton of money remodeling the Count Jail that has only been at 50% occupancy since it was built. They remodeled the heck out of the Courthouse to make it more convenient for the judges and lawyers. Half the time the lawyers put in their appearances via the phone and don't even show up at the court house. They also went crazy on a new administrative building. Are we getting our money's worth building these monuments? With 10% unemployment, property values falling like a rock and the economy in the ditch our property taxes are way to high as it is. If these guys can't get the job done vote'm out.

I now pay more than 20% of what I originally paid for my place in property taxes every year. The new assessment just went up another $50,000 with no improvements made to the real estate in the last ten years. When you question the assessment you get handed some crap about the mill rate may go down. Like heck it will go down. Our taxes are going up at least 11.5%.

We need to follow the TEA (Taxed Enough Already} Party's lead and start raising **** with these big spender politicians at the local level.